Annual Report 2009 - Atmosfair

CDM verification and monitoring
High hurdle CDM...
atmosfair is the only carbon offsetter that registers all
projects world-wide with the UN clean development
mechanism (CDM) as well as with the Gold Standard.
We do so because no other certification offers the
same transparency, accountability, and participation
during the validation and certification processes.
- Transparency: All CDM project planning documents,
from technical specifications to approval by the project
country government are—independently of atmosfair—made
available to the public on UN websites
by the verifiers and by UN committees. For each project,
these include hundreds of pages in which all delicate
questions about the project must be answered,
for example the question of so-called additionality (see
page X).
- Accountability: CDM Project verifiers must be accredited
and reviewed by the UN, they are also liable for
every ton of CO 2
they verify. More than once verifiers
have had to pay for estimating savings too high, leading
to very stringent evaluations.
Typical progression of a CDM Gold Standard project
Interactions between atmosfair, its partners and public agencies, pre-established time frames
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Evaluation of the project idea
Project agreement between atmosfair and project partner
Collection of baseline data, first stakeholder consultation, creation
of Project Design Document (PDD)
Approval of the project by host country
(time required varies according to country)
Validation of the PDD by auditors, public comment period,
second stakeholder round
Start of construction with atmosfair funds
Incorporation of comments from the public and the auditors
into the PDD
Creation of the validation report
- Participation: During the CDM validation process, first
the local population and subsequently any individual
or organization in the world may raise objections (similar
to official planning approval procedures in Germany).
Verifiers must deal with these objections in their
reports.
... sometimes too high
But the CDM also has disadvantages. There are long
waiting periods for CO 2
certification and the procedure
is overcomplicated for very small projects. On the
opposite page two projects are presented for which
atmosfair does not count the carbon reduction because
the CO 2
savings achieved are too small to merit
the expense of CDM verification. In one case, atmosfair
got lost in Chinese red tape; otherwise, atmosfair
would have to resubmit many documents and reformulate
them with the project managers, because location
and technical details have changed.
Nevertheless, atmosfair currently sees no alternative
to the CDM and will continue to engage in helping
to improve the CDM while also discussing alternative
designs.
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…
Months
required
following
launch decision
Submission of the registration application to the UN
Review of the registration application,
registration of the project (UN)
Submission of the registration application to the Gold Standard
Foundation
Review of the registration application,
registration of the project (Gold Standard)
Starting point for counting emissions reductions, monitoring
of emissions reductions
Verification of the reduced emissions, creation of the verification
report, application for issuance of the UN-certified CO 2
reduction
Review of the verification reports (UN/Gold Standard), issuance
of the UN-certified CO 2
reduction
Transfer of the UN-certified CO 2
reduction to atmosfair account at
DEHST (Deutsche Emissionshandelstelle), retirement
Planning Phase
Approval Phase
Operational Phase
Handled by atmosfair/project operator
Handled by auditor
Periods established by UN and Gold Standard (GS)
Projects
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